Four local style stars to kick of 2011

Small-town style

I drive significantly out of the way on my to work every morning just to pass through the half block that is downtown Hygiene. Well, accurately, it's no downtown; more like downhorsepost.

Really, it's two buildings and a street vendor. Sometimes, a man stands at the intersection, selling food and coffee to passing cars. Not in the aggressive Haitian taxi park "don't-you-want-phone-chargers-and-pineapple" window-sales kind of way, but in the humble, old-towny style that, for the first and last time ever, makes me excited to hit a stop sign.

Maybe it's the two dogs wagging in the back of (presumably) his nearby pick-up truck, or the hunch that I could trade him two oxen for a bushel of corn. But I've managed to mentally deify wee Hygiene, even though, lore is, the community was named after a sanitarium for tuberculosis patients.

But lo! This glorious metropolis boasts more than a sanitarium and single street vendor.

Rabbit Brush Gallery recently opened at 7504 Hygiene Road. Not shockingly, this is Hygiene's only gallery.

Rabbit Brush features paintings, sculptures, ceramics and jewelry -- including pieces by one of my local faves, Nancy Anderson, with Sweetbird Studio (sweetbirdstudio.com). On her Web site, Anderson calls herself a modern day hunter-gatherer, "in love with other people's trash."

"I have a barn full of rust. I treasure the stuff. I prefer alleys, salvage yards and fields to storefronts," she writes.

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Anderson re-crafts these pieces into (oft Western-style) "wearable shrines of intention," including rings and earrings, but the most unique of which are her belt buckles. Her jewelry fits perfectly into the character I imagine for this town-thing that now peddles her wares.

The gallery also features Carolyn Beezley, of Boulder, who works in sterling with fused gold; the nonprofit BeadforLife, which sells recycled jewelry made by Ugandan women; and fair-trade hand-woven bracelets from Guatemala.

Naya Organics

Unfortunately for my gas tank, you can't base your entire fashion intelligence off a half block of a region too small to warrant "town" status. So here are some other local style groundbreakers worth a sniff in 2011.

Kelsey Lynn Riley, of Boulder, created this organic skincare line four years ago. She does all marketing, sales, design and handcrafting herself, meaning the products are machine-free and made in small batches. Nothing is outsourced or manufactured.

Naya Organics are entirely plant- and food-based, made out of ingredients found in Riley's kitchen. All ingredients come from small, ethical sources with a focus on local businesses.

The line offers 19 products, including a comprehensive face line, lip balms, therapeutic body oils, body balms and scrubs. Prices are reasonable (and currently on sale), with ginger and vanilla eye cream at $15.30 or a coffee orange body scrub for $20.40.

Find Naya Organics at Om Time Yoga Studio and Six Persimmons in Boulder, as well as online.

Having a properly fitted sports bra is as important as a good pair of shoes, says owner Kim Larson, adding that 80 to 85 percent of women aren't wearing the right size. BoulderFields will hold a grand opening later this month.

For every clothing item purchased from smartthreads 1=1, another is donated to nonprofit Clothes4Soles, which then distributes the items where needed -- "because fashion can have soul," the company touts. Cofounder of smartthreads is Boulder native, Larry Crabb.

Some highlights of the look book: The $70 Kristin Jacket, a cotton military-style coat; or (cheaper) and more simply, a $20 black tee with the tagline "socially conscious clothing" across the front.

Find smartthreads' new collegiate apparel at the University of Colorado Bookstore.

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